If there is one team to avoid in Pot 2, it’s Spain. Through some anomaly of the FIFA ranking system the 2010 champs find themselves as the team nobody wants to face – this is the team of the Group of Death. There is the issue of aging players, particularly in defense. Pique, Ramos, Iniesta, Busquets and David Silva will all be older than 30 years old at the World Cup. But there is promise all around, with David De Gea between the sticks and Thiago Alcantara, Alvaro Morata and Isco all near the prime of their careers. Though they have been poor in their last two major tournaments, this is a Spanish side who you just can’t count out for the trophy.

Peru fall heavily in the “has really improved” column. Very few would have picked them to scrape out of a competitive CONMEBOL qualifying, but they did so with poise, before qualifying as the 32nd team by beating New Zealand in the intercontinental play-off. The country that claimed to invent the bicycle kick, Peru revolve around around Flamengo’s Paolo Guerrero, who, at 33, is the side’s heartbeat. With controversy swirling Guerrero over potential drug use – he claims his innocence – and no World Cup experience in the side deprived of 36 years from the World Cup, it’s hard to tell what Peru will show up in Russia. On paper alone, they look like a beatable side – only Lokomotiv’s Jefferson Farfan has more than 10 goals for the national team in the last callups.

Switzerland are a side that just keeps on grinding out results. The one word that strikes me about them is balance. They aren’t flashy, nor are they overly compact. Sure, they needed a questionable penalty against Northern Ireland to qualify for the World Cup, but going 9-0-1 in qualifying, losing only to Portugal on the final matchday, is no easy feat. They’re a healthy mix of veterans and startlets, and will rely on Benfica’s Seferovic, Stoke’s Shaqiri and Juve’s Lichtsteiner to put them past opponents. A team to not be underestimated, but not one that strikes terror on the outset either.

Ah, England. Ridden with misfortune and poor performances in every major competition in ages, pressure will be high on Gareth Southgate’s side to quite simply do something in Russia and not embarrass themselves. It will not be the striker position that will worry them too much, as Harry Kane will do quite nicely, with Jamie Vardy a good bench option, but rather the midfield. If the creative responsibilities on this side will be hoisted on the shoulders of Ruben Loftus-Cheek or a presently out-of-form Dele Alli, then England could be in some trouble. Coasting through qualifying while playing dull, drab football may have worked then, but it won’t in Russia. That said, England have the raw talent, and there is still time for these issues to be addressed.

The Colombia we saw in Suwon quite likely will not resemble the Colombia we will see at the World Cup, but Korea did manage to expose some of their flaws. For one, a heavy reliance on James Rodriguez, indicative perhaps of the Colombian addiction with becoming the next great ’10’. The gulf in quality between James and a resurgent Radamel Falcao with the rest of the side is significant, and a smart opponent will seek to stymie their predictable game plan. Though there are easier sides to draw in this pot, and though they still have quality going forwards, Korea will be confident about clashing swords with the Colombians yet again given recent results.

Mexico walked CONCACAF qualifying this time around, and what a flamboyant, dynamic side they can be. Though a majority of the side aren’t big European names, electing to stay in Liga MX or the MLS, they remain a threatening, fluid attacking team. With reliable, century-club veterans such as Javier Hernandez, Giovani dos Santos and Andres Guardado to rely on, the Mexicans’ dispersed club allegiances should be no barrier to a group that boasts formidable veterans and promising young talents like PSV’s Hirving Lozano. However, a masochistic tendency to just fall apart when it matters the most could haunt an El Tri side aiming to make it to the Quarter-Finals for the first time on foreign soil.

Korean fans will still be bitter about Uruguay knocking Huh Jung-moo’s side out of the 2010 World Cup, and facing Uruguay in the draw won’t probably help those feelings subside. A power-duo of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez will be devastating to fragile defenses if both players are in-form, but an aging defense and lack of consistency saw them fail to leave a mark at the last two Copa Americas (2015 and 2016’s Centenario). Korea’s usual centreback problems don’t give us much to hold up against Uruguay’s powerful forwards, but a compact and quick-counter approach could see us get something out of another one of this year’s darkhorses.

Croatia are rather strange. They have the orchestra conductors of two of the finest clubs in the world – Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric – and yet they limped through qualifying in a group with Iceland, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland and Kosovo without ever really putting in a dominant performance (except for a 6-0 away at Kosovo). Though they eventually dismissed the Sunderland of the World Cup, Greece, in the European playoff, their new manager Zlatko Dalic, who spent 7 years coaching in the Middle East, has some work to do to turn them into world beaters. Korea might be able to take a point off of Croatia, but they would naturally deprive the squad of possession and I doubt the 4-4-2 is ready to handle a Rakitic-Modric double pivot just yet.

7 Comments

Assuming that the Pot 1 team Korea draws will advance (since it seems unlikely Korea will be placed with Russia), Korea’s best shot of making the knockout stages is to leapfrog the Pot 2 and 3 teams. If Korea is placed with Spain, England, or Uruguay, chances would be bleak. I’ll roll the dice with any of the remaining Pot 2 teams and see what happens.

I still see Korea as underdogs against all of these teams (yes, even Peru, Croatia- I know the Korean media will say “We can easily beat them!”, but these are teams that, like Algeria, can rip Korea apart). I get the feeling that the Korean players know this even if the fans/media don’t. Ki himself said Korea is the weakest team at the World Cup. If the team uses that underdog mentality and finally get their shit together, I think we are also a team that can surprise any of these Pot 2 teams (maybe not Spain). Really depends on our preparation and teamwork.

K League Classic

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

Ulsan

29

2

Seoul

25

3

Jeonbuk Motors

24

4

Daegu

22

5

Sangju Sangmu

20

6

Pohang Steelers

20

7

Gangwon

19

8

Suwon Bluewings

13

9

Seongnam

13

10

Jeju United

10

11

Gyeongnam

9

12

Incheon United

6

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

May 25, 2019

Seongnam

1 - 4

Ulsan

Gangwon

0 - 1

Jeju United

Pohang Steelers

0 - 0

Seoul

May 24, 2019

Incheon United

1 - 2

Sangju Sangmu

May 19, 2019

Sangju Sangmu

1 - 3

Seoul

Seongnam

1 - 2

Gangwon

English Premier League

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

AFC Bournemouth

0

2

Arsenal

0

3

Brighton & Hov…

0

4

Burnley

0

5

Chelsea

0

6

Crystal Palace

0

7

Everton

0

8

Leicester City

0

9

Liverpool

0

10

Manchester City

0

11

Manchester United

0

12

Newcastle United

0

13

Norwich City

0

14

Sheffield United

0

15

Southampton

0

16

Tottenham Hotspur

0

17

Watford

0

18

West Ham United

0

19

Wolverhampton Wanderers

0

Hwang Heechan

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

Red Bull Salzburg

55

Bundesliga

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

Bayern München

78

2

Borussia Dortmund

76

3

RB Leipzig

66

4

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

58

5

Borussia Mönchengladbach

55

6

Wolfsburg

55

7

Eintracht Frankfurt

54

8

Werder Bremen

53

9

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

51

10

Fortuna Düsseldorf

44

11

Hertha BSC

43

12

1. FSV Mainz 05

43

13

SC Freiburg

36

14

Schalke 04

33

15

Augsburg 1907

32

16

Stuttgart

28

17

Hannover 96

21

18

Nürnberg

19

Kwon Changhoon

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

18

Dijon

34

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The Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors is an online community of Korean football/soccer supporters. We bring you news, analysis and opinion in English about Korean players abroad, youth players and the K League.